3-km jam on NH, commuters stuck for hours

Traffic came to a standstill at Paror on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway on Saturday as thousands of devotees thronged Radha Soami Satsang, where sect head Baba Gurinder Singh would address a gathering tomorrow.

Since early morning a large number of vehicles, including buses, trucks and cars, had started plying on the NH. By afternoon the queue of vehicles stretched to over 3 km. The situation worsened due to the administration’s alleged failure in promptly clearing the highway and diverting the traffic via Nagri road. Despite the chaos, there was a thin presence of police on the site to manage traffic or direct vehicles to alternative routes.

Commuters bore the brunt of the traffic mismanagement. Vijay Kumar, a Delhi-bound traveller, said, “We’ve been stuck here for nearly two hours. I was supposed to catch a flight from Gaggal Airport to Delhi, but not sure if I’ll make it.”

Another tourist, on way from Barot to Delhi, expressed frustration over missing his 2.30 pm flight from the airport due to the gridlock. Dozens of school buses, carrying students, were also stranded on the highway. Repeated attempts to contact the senior district officers were unsuccessful, as their phones were either switched off or the calls went unanswered. The traffic had not been restored at the time of filing of this report.

Meanwhile, senior leaders of the BJP and Congress are expected to call on the Radha Soami Satsang head at Paror tomorrow.

The visit of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is yet to be confirmed.

A spokesman of Radha Soami Satsang said though they had deputed 200 volunteers since morning to manage the traffic, an unmanageable crowd had reached here to listen to Baba Gurinder Singh.

He apologised for the inconvenience caused to public and commuters.